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On 1 October 2026, the FCA published Policy Statement PS26/19, confirming final rules requiring listed issuers to align their sustainability and climate disclosures with the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), replacing the existing TCFD-aligned Listing Rules regime.The new regime applies on a comply or explain basis from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting in 2028.

What Changed: Governor Newsom signed AB 1776, also known as the California COMPETE Act, on September 30, 2026, extending California's Cartwright Act to single-company conduct.Who Is Affected: A single dominant company can now face liability on its own, without any agreement or coordination with another company, from the California Attorney General or a district attorney (but not private litigants). Businesses with a significant California  presence, and those businesses competing against companies with significant California presences, have new considerations to evaluate under this expanded standard.Moving Forward: Assess your company's position in California, review your business practices for potentially exclusionary conduct, document the business rationale behind practices that may restrict or exclude other competitors, confirm eligibility for the small business exemption where applicable, and update compliance training to cover single-company conduct.

Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue we discuss: Government consultation on modernizing corporate reporting The UK government has launched a consultation on a major overhaul of the corporate reporting framework, aiming to refocus annual reports on financially material information for investors and creditors, with responses due by 30 November 2026. FRC publishes Annual Review of Corporate Reporting The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its Annual Review of Corporate Reporting, reviewing the quality of corporate reporting by FTSE 350 and other companies in 2025/26. FCA Primary Market Bulletin 65 FCA Primary Market Bulletin 65 addresses concerns about potentially misleading regulatory announcements, evolving sponsor due diligence practices, delayed disclosure of inside information themes, and the new simplified inside information declaration form. FCA Primary Market Bulletin 66 FCA Primary Market Bulletin 66 sets out, amongst other things, the FCA's recent thinking on when a cyber incident triggers disclosure obligations for issuers under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). LSE publishes 2027 Dividend Procedure Timetable LSE publishes 2027 Dividend Procedure Timetable, confirming the UK's move to T+1 settlement from 11 October 2027 and its impact on dividend timetables. Directors warned to verify identities with Companies House following first prosecutions The Insolvency Service has secured its first three convictions under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 for directors' failure to complete Companies House identity verification, highlighting the need for prompt compliance. FRC publishes ‘Provision 29 Mythbuster: Focus on Cyber’ FRC cyber mythbuster clarifies that Provision 29 declarations should address the board's assurance process, not disclose sensitive technical detail. Supreme Court upholds contractual right to loss of bargain damagesGreat Asia Maritime Limited v Orion Shipping and Trading LLC [2026] UKSC 23 The Supreme Court has clarified that ‘loss of bargain’ damages can be recovered under a contractual right of termination where the contract provides for them. Holding AGMs: lessons to learn from a recent caseMILFAM LLC v Morrow and ors [2026] CIGC (FSD) 54 A recent Cayman Islands’ case has flagged some lessons to learn around the conduct of AGMs.